Unlocking Agri-Food Innovation: How INRAE and La Ferme Digitale Are Transforming the Industry Together

At the International Agricultural Show, Philippe Mauguin, President and CEO of INRAE, and Jérôme Le Roy, President of La Ferme Digitale, announced a new four-year partnership. This collaboration aims to bridge the gap between research and innovation in agriculture and agri-food.

This partnership is a big step forward in addressing challenges in the agricultural industry. According to a press release, a major focus will be integrating INRAE’s data into a project called GAIA (Generative Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture), which La Ferme Digitale presented at the International AI Summit in Paris.

As the agricultural sector evolves, innovation is more essential than ever. Farmers, consumers, and society all need sustainable solutions. INRAE, a top global research institute in agriculture, food, and the environment, has teamed up with La Ferme Digitale, which is recognized as Europe’s leading AgriTech network. Together, they hope to speed up the development of new and effective solutions.

The aim of this collaboration is to tackle pressing issues in agriculture, such as adapting to climate change, promoting agroecological practices, and ensuring food sovereignty. By combining INRAE’s scientific expertise with the innovative mindset of start-ups, they hope to create and commercialize new technologies more effectively.

This partnership will help identify scientific obstacles and promote projects that transform research into real-world applications. Here are some of their key priorities:

• Connect researchers and start-ups through joint events focused on innovation.
• Support scientists wanting to start their own companies.
• Utilize INRAE and La Ferme Digitale’s data for the GAIA project to foster agricultural innovation.
• Develop collaborative research efforts to connect start-ups with scientific resources and support initiatives like France 2030.
• Allow start-ups access to INRAE’s facilities and equipment to test new ideas.
• Showcase successful projects that highlight the impact of research in agriculture and food sectors.

Philippe Mauguin emphasized the importance of this agreement, stating it would strengthen partnerships with agricultural start-ups. He believes that sharing knowledge and resources will help drive innovation in farming and food systems.

Understanding GAIA: An Open AI Platform for Agriculture

At the heart of this initiative is the GAIA project, which includes La Ferme Digitale, OSFARM, INRAE, ACTA, and other stakeholders. The goal is to make artificial intelligence accessible to the agricultural sector.

GAIA aims to create a collaborative tool for developing AI agents designed for farmers, establishing an open-source platform. This toolkit will combine software and data, functioning like a smart assistant to help farmers make better decisions and access agricultural information more easily.

The project focuses on two main approaches:

• GAIA Kit: A shared digital platform for agricultural data, designed to address specific challenges in the sector.
• AI Acculturation Program: This program helps identify practical use cases and enhances the integration of new data into the GAIA database, promoting better collaboration between public and private data sources.